by Jaleta Clegg
I sat in front of the scanners and tried to make myself concentrate. The numbers made no sense. I didn’t know enough to interpret the results. Maybe someone else would, if I could find them. I had little to print on. I could have filled reams. I did my best to read through the results and remember what I could. I ran comparisons against the ship library. The force fields were still in place, blocking communications and trapping the ships on the planet. There was a huge spike at one midrange frequency that I guessed corresponded to the one used for emergency beacons. I compressed as much of it as I could and fed my last sheet of paper into the printer.
I made it to the end of the data and rubbed eyes gritty and tired from staring at the screen. It was dark outside. Time to move again.
I wasted time in the galley, eating. I didn’t want to leave the ship. I didn’t want to face the empty night and the faint breeze that was starting to speak to me. I didn’t want to face another night of hiking through the sharp smelling plants and looking over my shoulder. I didn’t want to spend any more time alone in my own head. I twisted the ring around my finger. And found the courage and determination to keep going. My mother had. And so could I.
The night air was colder than normal, a wet cold that cut straight through my heated suit. I stepped out of the airlock and got my bearings. I didn’t see any sign that the golden men followed me here. My trail, faint as it was, was the only noticeable one in the valley where my father’s ship had landed. I closed the airlock and rigged the controls, just like I’d done on all of the other ships.
I walked down the gangplank and into the low growing plants. They didn’t crackle under my feet. They bent wetly and sprang back behind me, their stems swollen with the rain. I paused at the crest of a long low hill and looked back. I couldn’t see my trail leading to the Trailblazer.
The sky overhead still held a few lingering traces of sunlight. The raging nebulae discharge was muted. The shadows were thicker. I stretched, easing the pack into a more comfortable position and made my decision.
The opportunity was too good to waste. I’d stop by the two ships, quickly checking them if they showed promise of holding anything at all. And then I’d go as fast as I could to the canyon where the storm had been centered. I’d find a place to hide until the force field was shut down and then slip over the edge to see what I could find.
I started across the desolate landscape. The nearest ship beckoned with a faint glow from the airlock.
Chapter 12
The night air burned in my lungs, too thin and cold. Ice formed on the plants, a delicate white lace that crunched under every step. But the plants weren’t breaking, only bending, so full of water they had temporarily lost their brittleness. Come morning, all trace of my passage should be gone, melted away into nothing.
I moved as fast as I could through the light gravity. I still paced myself, I had quite a few miles to cover before the night was over.
I was acutely aware of my father's ring every time I moved my hand. Who was he really? I was going to find out. He was here, on this planet. Alive, I hoped.
“One thing at a time.” My voice was thin, the only noise in the whole landscape. The lack of any life other than the low growing plants bothered me more than I wanted to admit. At least I didn’t have to worry about animals chasing me. Only strange men with even stranger weapons.
I reached the first ship. The boarding ramp was down, the door stood open. It was another merchant ship. I went in and found what I’d expected. It had been stripped bare.
The engine controls were a mass of red and yellow lights. The ship could fly, with major repairs. I made a note by its name and moved on.
The second ship wasn’t far away. It was another Patrol scout. I played my handlight up the side of the ship, checking the name. The Patrol emblem was circled in black and red with the Enforcer logo small underneath.
The ship was empty except for three tall storage lockers that I might have opened if I’d had a plasma torch and several hours to work on them. The engine status was good. The indicators all read in the acceptable range. I took a moment to sit in the pilot’s chair and make notes.
My list was mostly complete. Thirteen ships could fly with only very small repairs, if any. Six more could lift, but they had no water or food aboard. So why was I making this list? I asked myself the question and swung the chair back and forth while I thought.
My ship would fly. I was rescuing Jasyn and Clark. Why bother with all these other ships? It had been something to do. A way to avoid having to get too close to the golden men and their strange weapons.
The end result was that I now had a list of ships and a few supplies cached near the canyon. And I’d wasted an entire week. But I’d found my father, sort of. I twisted the ring around my finger. I’d wasted too much time.
I checked the galley. It was still fully stocked. I ate another bland meal. I refilled my water bottles and repacked the pack. I was stalling. It was one thing to plan, it was another to find the courage to carry out the plan.
I pulled my mother’s picture out of my pocket. My father had loved her, he’d kept her picture all these years. I’d found a connection, a beginning to understanding who she’d been, who my father was, and in a way, who I was. I didn’t want to lose that before I’d even begun to explore it. If I wanted that chance, I had to leave. I had to find a way out of this death trap.
I put the picture away. It was time to find out what kind of courage I had when circumstances weren’t forcing me to use it. This time, my own willpower had to carry me out the door. No one held a gun on me. Yet.
I opened the airlock before I could change my mind. The night was still cold. The sky overhead was full of sullen reds and dirty yellows, plenty of light to see where I was going. I shut the door and fixed the wires. I didn’t need to study my maps again, I knew where I was going. I didn’t want to go. I had to chance it, if I wanted a chance to live. Wandering between abandoned ships for the rest of my life, by myself, had no appeal.
That first step was the hardest. I didn’t look back. Each step got easier. I moved into a mindless rhythm that carried me over the low slopes, towards the canyon. The night dragged on. I walked miles over the unmarked landscape.
I came across a wide trail and turned into that. I followed it right up to the edge where the diffuse purple glow of the force shield stopped me.
Dawn was at least an hour away. The night was colder than any previous one. The batteries in my suit’s heater were almost dead. I moved into the taller growth that lined the canyon rim, following the dim path into their shadows.
I found a place where I could slip away without leaving evidence. I picked my way through the darkness, circling back until I was near the canyon rim. I found a clump of the trees and wormed my way into the middle. I settled down, trying to find a position that would conserve body heat but was still comfortable.
I dozed off without meaning to. I dreamed about my mother. She was a soft shape, singing a simple lullaby. I felt her rocking me and was at peace.
I woke with the sun in my face. The bushes around me waved in the wind that rose constantly from the canyon during the day. I was warm again. I sipped my water then stashed my pack under the bushes.
I crawled to the edge of the canyon, away from the path that dropped over the edge not far away. I wormed onto a flat rock and peered over.
The canyon fell away, almost completely sheer. Far below, I saw a fuzzy green layer that covered the wide floor of the canyon and lapped against the edges, like an ocean of plants.
I wished I had a pair of viewers. I saw some dark splotches at the base of the opposite wall that could have been caves. They were too far away for me to tell. I squinted into the wind and tried to find some trace of people.
Other than the path that dropped dizzily across the face of the cliff, I saw nothing to indicate that I wasn’t alone on the planet. I lay on the rock, on my belly, and tried to stay positive.
What had I expected? A hidde
n city? A giant sign pointing at a generator? A flashing light indicating where the force field controls were? It would have been nice if it were that easy.
I baked in the sun until I was overheated. I crawled back into the bushes and drank more water.
I didn’t want to chance the path during the daylight. It was too exposed. I hadn’t seen any sign of anyone, but I knew the golden men were there. Somewhere. I sat in the bushes, twisting my father’s ring while I thought.
I could wait until almost dark, just before the force shield came on, then slip over the rim. I could hide, lying flat on the trail until dark. Then I could follow it down and find somewhere to hide in the forest below.
I took my pack and squirmed through the bushes and low trees until I found a place near the trail with a wide view of the canyon below. I settled in and waited.
And waited. The day passed slowly. Nothing much happened. I didn’t see anything below that indicated anyone lived there. Had I guessed wrong? I didn’t think so. The golden men had come from the canyon and gone back to it. They left paths down the face of the cliff. They had to be down there. Jasyn and Clark had to be down there. I was going to get them out, or die trying.
The sun crept lower in the sky. It was still an hour away from setting when I decided I should make my move. I didn’t know when the force shield came on and I didn’t want to waste another day.
I gathered my pack, sliding it onto my shoulders. I stood and took one step towards the path. Then froze as I heard voices and crunching footsteps. I ducked back into the bushes.
Six of the golden men came down the path, arguing with violent hand gestures and loud voices. Two of them carried one of the black boxes. They stopped at the top of the canyon rim. The lead one turned. He shouted into the face of the man behind him, who shouted back. The others put down the black box and waited.
My heart pounded so hard I couldn’t breathe. I stared at them through a fringe of thick leaves. They weren’t as identical as I’d first thought. The ones at the back, carrying the heavy box, were definitely younger. Those arguing were older. Their hair was identical, the same shade of honey. Their eyes were all the same, although the older ones had a few wrinkles.
Time crept by as they shouted.
Who were they? Where had they come from? Why were they on this world? My curiosity was working overtime. I promised myself someday I would find a way to remove it, before it killed me.
I worried they’d stand there arguing until the force shield came on. One of the younger ones obviously had the same concern. He pointed at the sun and jabbered. The first man threw his hands in the air and marched away, down the path along the cliff face. The others quickly followed him. Their relief was easy to read on their faces.
I waited as long as I thought I could. I scrambled out of the bushes and lay flat on the trail, right at the rim of the canyon. I peered over the edge. Sunlight bathed the whole face of the cliff in bloody light. They were only three twists of the path below me.
The force field sizzled behind me. The purple light crept closer. I rolled over the edge and lay flat just below the rim, hugging the path and hoping the slanted rays of sunlight wouldn’t reveal me.
The shield crept closer, growing thicker as the daylight faded. I crawled down the path, doing my best to stay hidden. The men kept going, drawing farther away. None of them bothered to look up. I crawled down three turns of the path before the hair on my arms quit standing straight up. I sat against the cliff wall and looked up.
The sky above me was gone, hidden behind a thick fuzz of purple light. The breeze that rose so steadily from the canyon during the day had reversed. Wind gusted down, throwing grit in my face. It didn’t last long. The air grew still and dead. The shield sizzled, loud in the quiet night. I had no way to go but down.
I waited, hoping it would get darker. It didn’t. I finally leaned out, looking for the men on the path. I could just barely see them moving into the green canopy far below. It was time for me to move.
The trail narrowed until it was barely wide enough for my feet. I inched my way past the narrowest parts. Prickly plants clung to the wall. I jabbed my fingers more than once.
It seemed to take forever to reach the less steep part near the bottom. The path widened, lined by thin grasses instead of rocks and a long drop. I moved faster. I hadn’t seen any sign of the men. I didn’t see any sign of anything in the forests but trees, no lights, no indications that anyone at all lived on the planet.
The path reached the edge of the forest. I stopped, unwilling to blunder my way through the dark. A narrow track cut across the path, running along the edge of the thicker trees. I took the track and turned north. The caches I’d left were at the top of the cliff in that direction.
It wasn’t silent here, beneath the purple force field. The trees rustled with a faint breeze. Something chirped in the grass. It stopped when I came close.
I walked a long time, alone except for the purple glow overhead that blocked out the stars and the occasional small creature chirping in the grass. I didn’t find anything that might possibly be generators. I didn’t find anything that might be a shelter or house. The only traces of people were the dirt paths that crisscrossed through the forest and grass.
I came to another branch of the path that zigzagged up the cliff to the top. The night was passing. I turned my back on the forest and started the long hike back to the top of the deep canyon.
Chapter 13
Another long grueling day of pounding plants over the steaming cauldron and Jasyn swore she’d start screaming. The only break was the day it dripped rain.
She ran a finger under her wide collar. It didn’t itch or rub, it was just there except when she didn’t do what they told her to and the men used their wands. Then the collar sent waves of pain shooting through her. Her nerves still tingled from the bolt this morning.
She stood at the cauldron and pounded with the heavy stick. Roz wasn’t talking to her anymore, not after Jasyn had screamed at the golden man and been shocked. The others had warned her. She didn’t have their patience. She wanted out of the canyon, away from the endless pounding. She wanted to know what had happened to Clark. And Dace.
It had been too many days. Dace couldn’t still be out there. Jasyn hit the sludge in the cauldron and fought back defeat.
They’d floated messages on the stream, written on bark with her lipstick. And gotten nothing back. Ruttie had taken her com completely apart and hidden the pieces. All of Taffer’s ideas fizzled. His mind was long gone and the others wouldn’t see it. Taffer held onto hope like a shield. He refused to believe his hope was empty. They would never get off this world.
Jasyn wiped sweat from her face, missing a beat. The golden men weren’t watching. She got away with that small rebellion. She had to do something, soon, or she’d be joining Ruttie in his silence.
The day ended, just like all the others. They were herded back to their enclosure and walled in behind the thorns. Jasyn took her brick of food and sat as far from the others as she could get. She couldn’t stand another night of Taffer’s cheerful optimism. Their situation was completely hopeless. They were all going to die here. No one was going to escape. Ever.
Taffer wouldn’t leave her alone. He came to join her.
“You need to be patient,” he said, patting her leg.
“You’ve been patient for years and where has it gotten you?” She jerked her leg away, curling it under her. “Face it, Taffer, we are never going to get out of here. Never.”
She saw the bleak truth in his eyes. He knew it was hopeless. He knew he’d never walk free again. He hid it under a bright smile, his eyes blank again.
“We’ll get out, just you wait. Those messages have gotten through, they just haven’t found a way to reply. The stream doesn’t reverse directions. Don’t give up, Jasyn.” His eyes silently begged her to keep up the pretense.
She rubbed her hands over her face. “I don’t know how you do it, Taffer.” She dropped h
er hands to her lap.
“You keep hoping or you die,” he whispered. “Maybe tomorrow we’ll hear from them.” He smiled again and patted her leg.
He left her to fight off despair. She saw Roz watching her across the clearing. Roz turned her head away.
Night came, the clearing slowly darkened until the purple haze began to glow. Jasyn looked up, wanting to see stars. All she saw were the tree branches overhead and the force shield that trapped them at the same time it allowed them to live.
Morning came, the same routine. She trudged out with the others, silently filing past their guards and the wands. She went to her place in the clearing with the cauldrons and began pounding with the others. The blisters on her hands were healed, her muscles had toughened up. She fell into the rhythm of it and let her mind drift.
Time passed, without her being consciously aware of it.
The guards shouted. The rhythm was disrupted.
Their guards listened to distant shouts, their attention focused beyond the clearing. Jasyn pricked her ears. She caught phrases. Someone had escaped. Someone was loose. This could be an opportunity to run. She dropped her heavy stick.
The guards had their wands up. They drove her group out of the clearing and down a different path. She had no chance to duck away. They were herded a short distance to the mouth of a dark cave.
“Inside!” The guards shoved them when they didn’t move fast enough.
Other groups streamed in from different directions. Jasyn looked around wildly, searching for another green suit like her own. She was pushed inside. The guards had their wands up. The prisoners moved faster, dragging her with them.
The cave mouth opened into a fairly large cavern. The walls were rough stone. The floor was part sand, part piles of rock. A thin light trickled through the roof far overhead where the stones had cracked and let daylight through.
